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We’ve got quite the thoughtful gift for your next birthday celebration: a brand new Party Smarty theme for our most petite patrons — Ancient Egypt!

As with all of our Party Smarty offerings, this ancients-inspired shindig includes two hours of noggin-nourishing goodness for 20 kids and 20 parents, with optional add-ons like live animal demonstrations.

In addition to Egyptian-inspired crafts — think sand art and hieroglyphs — we’ll mummify the birthday boy or girl (but skip the burial) and give the whole party a guided tour of our acclaimed new Hall of Ancient Egypt.

If you’ve got an appetite for even more archaeology, an upgrade to the deluxe party package includes a special sculpting craft for the kiddos to make vases to hold their internal organs toys.

You don’t have to wait until St. Patrick’s Day to start thinking green. All month long, we’re offering $100 off our regular Party Smarty birthday parties at both the HMNS Main and Sugar Land locations.

What does that mean to you? That means members can book for $200 instead of the usual $300 price for the entire month of March, while non-members can make their kids’ birthday dreams come true for $250. (Please note: Our $800 deluxe parties are not eligible for discount, nor are parties that have already been booked.)

So why not treat yo self this March and let HMNS’ party coordinators do the heavy lifting? From treat bags to decor to activities, we’ve got you covered.

Creating a fuse bead masterpiece is a different feat at 25 years old than it was at 10. I’d never realized how handy having tiny digits had been until recently, as I fumbled with slippery, miniscule beads to create one of our most popular Party Smarty crafts.

Kiddos who book their birthdays with HMNS get a variety of extra-special extras, but our included craft time is something to be enjoyed by both the young and the young at heart.

I got in touch with my inner child with some good old-fashioned Perler beading. (You can find tubs of these infernal little buggers at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s. These days they even have sparkles.)

First, carefully place your fuse/Perler beads on your stencil. It pays to work from the center out (for obvious reasons), but if your imagination runs wild and you envision your dinosaur with spots or your butterfly with chevron wings, by all means, don’t let a little thing like common sense get in the way.

Check out these beauts by our Party Smarty staff and yours truly. Guess which one was by the amateur? (Hint: The answer’s not visible to the naked eye, but it took me twice as long to make the dino at bottom.)

Next you’ll iron the beads onto the mold with medium heat. Put a piece of parchment paper over your creation and make sure to use a dry iron, keeping the iron parallel to your surface and moving in circular motions. (This craft is recommended for children 7 and up, but Party Smarty staff will assist with this part.)

We find that it’s best to iron both sides for durability.

Once the beads are fused, as below, gently peel the fused plastic off the mold, cover it once more in parchment paper (which you can reuse, unlike wax paper) and iron again.

Whether you decide to make your creation into a magnet, a barrette or a creative holiday ornament, you’ll have partied smartly at HMNS.

You’ve already read about our ballin’ birthday party program. But now you can sneak a peek behind the scenes with one of our most outlandish birthday craft activities: MAKING SLIME! Our slime is customizable for different party themes (and can be made in different colors). We like to call the iteration below “dinosaur boogers.” (It comes with the dinosaur-themed birthday party.)

Instructions
• Fill a measuring cup with water and add a thin layer of Borax. Mix until dissolved and set aside.
• In a separate mixing container, combine glue and paint. Mix together until the paint is evenly mixed with the glue.
• Add the Borax water. (It begins to become slime the moment you add the Borax water, so be ready to mix!)
• Mix the Borax water into the glue mixture until it wraps around the mixing utensil. It may be a little wet, so put the slime in your sealable container and let it stand for a few minutes. Soon it will be ready to pull, throw, bounce, and blow out of your nose!